Disabled teacher fed up of discrimination at work

The North West education department is investigating allegations that a principal is subjecting a teacher with a disability to a life of humiliation and a difficult work environment in an effort to force her to resign.

This comes after Reokoditswe Morokoane, 36, said she had to call on the department to intervene following what she described as months of discriminatory treatment and humiliation that have left her feeling stripped off her dignity at the school where she works.

I … told her [the principal] that I could not look at her because she was laughing at me while I was crying.—  Reokoditswe Morokoane

She said her return to the classroom at Tukisang primary school after a life-changing operation has instead become a struggle to be accepted and accommodated at work.

North West education department spokesperson Elias Malindi confirmed that Morokoane’s complaint had been referred to the office of training, investigations and safety and that the “department will be guided by” its report.

Morokoane’s hands and legs were amputated in 2023 following complications with low blood pressure.

She underwent physiotherapy, was fitted with prosthetics, and learnt how to use them.

However, she said, it was when she was preparing to return to class that the principal told her to resign instead.

The principal did not give reasons for wanting her to resign, Morokoane said, and she refused.

“Following my refusal … the principal instructed me to return to an occupational therapist and obtain a professional recommendation indicating how the department should accommodate and assist me in the workplace,” she said.

Morokoane said she complied with the instruction, and the report was submitted to the principal.

Among other recommendations were that Morokoane be provided with an assistant teacher to support her, a laptop and projector in the classroom, and a wheeled chair to help her move around the classroom.

Another recommendation was that she be allocated a classroom so she would not have to move from class to class and risk further complications.

However, she said, after being allocated a class, the principal told her that the classroom had been reserved for visitors and that she would instead have to move from class to class to teach.

Determined not to let her disability hinder her, Morokoane improvised where necessary and made a makeshift tool to help her hold a pen and chalk.

Reokoditswe Morokoane grievances to the department of education. Morokoane alleges that she has struggled to enter the school premises because the principal did not want her vehicle on the school grounds.

She recalled one incident when she arrived at the school with three other teachers who arranged for her to be put into a wheelchair and wheeled to the classrooms, about 100m from where she is allowed to park.

“There were difficulties manoeuvring the wheelchair, and the general worker was called to assist with the wheelchair,” she recalled.

After eventually entering the school, Morokoane said she went to an empty classroom to compose herself and recover emotionally.

Morokoane said she answered but did not look directly at the principal, who allegedly instructed her to look at her.

“At that time, I was crying and told her that I could not look at her because she was laughing at me while I was crying,” she said.

“The physical consequences have caused me significant distress because I believe that the conditions under which I have been required to work have contributed to the deterioration of my physical condition.

Morokoane told Sowetan that all she wants is justice and for the education department to accommodate her.

“I am in pain facing discrimination at my workplace. She [the principal] doesn’t treat me well.

“I still want to teach children, and that’s why I wouldn’t mind being moved to another school,” she said.

Dylan Mashele of the National Council of and for Persons with Disabilities said that, despite existing laws, discrimination against employees with disabilities reflects broader exclusion and inequality.

“The fear of discrimination is not an irrational one; rather, it reflects the reality experienced by persons with disabilities on a daily basis,” he said.

Morokane said she also informed the regional South African Democratic Teachers Union office and that they used to attend meetings with her regarding the issue. Sowetan asked the union how they had tried to assist her, but they had not responded by the time of publication.